Liberty University
12-6
No. 4 seed Queens
10-8
Merkel Leads Liberty to ASUN Championship Final with 21-8 Semifinal Victory Over Queens
5/4/2023 6:28:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
No. 1 seed Liberty took down No. 4 seed Queens 21-8 on Thursday in the ASUN Championship semifinals to advance to the ASUN Championship final. Cami Merkel led the Lady Flames with a career-high seven points (5 g, 2 a).
Liberty (12-6) will face No. 2 seed Jacksonville (11-7) in the final, Saturday afternoon. First draw is set for 1 p.m. from Jacksonville's Rock Stadium. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
The Lady Flames scored seven unanswered goals in the second quarter to propel them to the big win. Mackenzie Lehman added four goals and an assist, while her and Merkel were involved in 12 of Liberty's 21 goals.
Liberty returns to the ASUN final for the fourth straight season, seeking their first-ever ASUN Championship title and first conference crown in program history. The Lady Flames fell to Jacksonville 20-12 in last season's ASUN title game.
The victory is Liberty's second over the Royals this season. The Lady Flames topped Queens 14-5 in the regular season meeting, April 8. Queens joined the ASUN last fall.
Scoring Summary
Liberty Goals: Cami Merkel 5, Mackenzie Lehman 4, Tori Banks 2, Lizzy Ferguson 2, Kelly Scott 2, Katie Colavito 2, Olivia Glaze 1, Andrea Colavito 1, Jordan Shieve 1, Lucy Shimek 1
Liberty Assists: Cami Merkel 2, Tori Banks 1, Lizzy Ferguson 1, Mackenzie Lehman 1, Kelly Scott 1
Queens Goals: Elise Garrett 3, Kayleen Favreau 3, Jordan Tandler 1, Jillian Gironda 1
Queens Assists: Shannon Donavan 2, Elise Grissett 1, Stephanie Joyce 1
Goalkeepers
W: Taylor Gallarello 11-1, three saves
L: Sharn Muffett 5-4, nine saves
Turning Point
The Lady Flames led the Royals 5-3 after one quarter. Sparked by Cami Merkel with a hat trick to start the second, Liberty scored seven in the quarter and ten straight goals overall spanning the whole second quarter and the first 7:53 of the second period to give the Lady Flames all the lead they needed.
Katie Colavito contributed to the run with her 12th and 13th goals of the year. Merkel bookended the run with her fourth goal of the game to get the lead to 15-3 with 8:07 remaining in the third.
First Half Summary
• Liberty jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead before the Royals answered to tie the match at 2-2.
• The Lady Flames responded back with three straight goals and finished the quarter up 5-3.
• Liberty had five different scorers in the first quarter of play.
• The Lady Flames scored seven unanswered goals for a 12-3 to end the first half.
• Goalkeeper Taylor Gallarello earned her fifth straight win, good for an 11-1 record. Gallarello managed three saves and has secured five straight wins.
Second Half Summary
• The Lady Flames kept their feet on the gas pedal, coming out with three straight goals to begin the second half.
• Goalkeeper Mara Tellers came on in relief of Gallarello, recording two saves in 30 minutes of play.
• Lucy Shimek scored her second career goal after recording her first goal during Liberty's Senior Day on April 22.
• Liberty managed five straight goals, its third run of at least three goals, to surge ahead to a 21-6 lead before Queens finished the game with two straight.
Key Stats & Notes
• Cami Merkel tallied a career-high seven points with five goals and two assists. The sophomore attacker has also notched six points in three games this spring. Merkel leads the squad with 41 goals, 17 assists and 58 points.
• The Lady Flames outshot the Royals 38-15 for the game, highlighted by Liberty with 15 shots to Queens' zero in the second quarter.
• Caused turnovers were a big part of Liberty's game, forcing 18 to Queens' eight. Hannah Davis and Katie Colavito each recorded three caused turnovers, marking a career high for Colavito and achieving her first game with multiple caused turnovers.
• Liberty had 10 different goal scorers throughout the game. Six goals came by free-position attempts on seven attempts.
• The Lady Flames were successful on 19-of-22 clear attempts (86.4 percent) while the Royals converted on 11-of-14 of its clearing chances (78.6 percent).
• Liberty outdrew Queens 17-15, with Lizzy Ferguson leading the way with seven.
• Ground balls favored the Lady Flames 23-13, with six recording multiple in the game.
• Queens made 11 saves compared to Liberty's five throughout the game.
Up Next
• The No. 1 seed Lady Flames return to Rock Stadium to face No. 2 seed Jacksonville in the ASUN Championship final. First draw is set for 1 p.m.
• Liberty secured its first win over JU this season in a 12-10 road victory on April 1. Before that, the Lady Flames had not won a game versus the Dolphins in 10 tries. The victory was also the first-ever ranked win, as JU was the 21st-ranked team in the country at the time.
• The Lady Flames are 0-3 in the ASUN Championship final, with each loss coming to the Dolphins.
Main Photo at Top of Story: No. 21 Cami Merkel
